Villagers facing social boycott at Patan district collector's office In a fresh incident of social boycott in North Gujarat, the dominant castemen of Ganjisar village of Santalpur taluka, Patan district, have passed an unusual resolution imposing heavy fines on those who maintain any type of social relations with the fellow Dalit villagers. The social boycott was imposed, suggests a representation handed over to different level of district and state officials, following a dispute on irrigation water between the Dalit and Choudhury Patel farmers.

RSS chief Bhagwat Considered by many as one of the world’s most talented economists, who “lost” the Nobel Prize to his imminent rival, Prof Amartya Sen -- and one who has recently gone extremely close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- Prof Jagdish Bhagwati has strongly defended RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat for saying that Mother Teresa was more interested in conversion of Hindus to Christianity, and less in the welfare of the poor.

Off Alang shipbreaking yard Two separate letters, one by senior Vadodara-based environmentalists of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, and the other by local village heads, have strongly opposed the recent coastal regulatory zone (CRZ)  clearance  to the proposed Mithi Virdi Nuclear Power Plant in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat. The letters say, the minutes of the 144th meeting of Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India (January 28-30, 2015) are "totally vague” about the reasons for offering the nod.

Fresh data released by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) in the report “Household Consumer Expenditure across Socio-Economic Groups” have suggested the purchasing power of the three socially disadvantaged groups – scheduled tribes (STs), scheduled castes (SCs) and other backward classes (OBCs) – in Gujarat is considerably less than what prevails in most of the Indian states, especially in the rural areas. Calculated as monthly per capita expenditure (MPCE), purchasing power figures are based on NSSO’s survey in 2011-12. The report was released in February 2015. In Gujarat’s rural areas, the STs’ average MPCE is Rs 1,155, which is less than 12 out of 20 major Indian states (Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Maharashtra). The SCs’ average MPCE is Rs 1,374, which is less than 11 major states (Kerala, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Mah...

  In a controversial statement, which may not go down well with those who are considered dominant sections of Hindus, a Mumbai-based scholar Amberish K Diwanji has triggered hornet's nest by saying, historically, “when Hindus ate beef, India was never conquered.” The scholar points towards “remarkable link between the eating of beef and India being a superpower”. The view comes amidst raging controversy surrounding the Maharashtra government’s recent ban on beef eating in the state.

  In a major victory for Gujarat's activist film makers, "Goonga Pehelwan", a documentary on the life and struggle of Virender Singh, one of India's most accomplished deaf athletes, has been adjudged as the best debut film award in the non-feature category for the 62nd National Film Awards for the Year 2014. Directed by Mit Jani, Vivek Chaudhary, and Prateek Gupta, the documentary, released in 2013, is an attempt to bring to light the "unequal treatment" from the government and the society.

Navsarjan School A decade-long experiment, taking shape 100 kilometres from Ahmedabad, halfway to Rajkot, the business hub of Saurashtra region of Gujarat, appears have largely gone unnoticed. Just next to the National Highway 8A, not very far from the sleepy Katariya village, the premier Dalit rights NGO of Gujarat, Navsarjan Trust, is running a higher primary school, for classes 5 to 8, seeking to turn it into a “model” for other schools to follow. It is one of the three schools run by Navsarjan — the other two being near the Rayka village in Ahmedabad district and Sami village in Patan district. As we entered the campus the other day, nobody seemed to be around. An eerie quiet prevailed, as if. Suddenly, a child spotted us, and declared “Martinbhai!” And, all of a sudden, a horde of children began peeping through a window, and many of them came out, welcoming us, smiling, eager to shake hands with their Martinbhai — and me. What a striking contrast it was from other primary schools,...

  A recently report by the Centre for Ecological Sciences of the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, has found that industrial pollution remains the main cause of worry for Ahmedabad. The study has said that out of 9,124.45 Gg CO2 emitted in Ahmedabad, industry alone accounts for 22.41 per cent, which is highest of the six other comparable cities -- Delhi, Greater Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Greater Bengaluru, and Hyderabad.

Dholera "smart" city In one of the sharpest critiques of the Government of India’s (GoI’s) proposal to come up with 100 smart cities, a senior UK scholar on urban development has said that Gujarat's Dholera, which GoI proposes to develop as a model concept for other smart cities to follow, is nothing but a “new urban utopia” of post-colonial India.

 Taking a stance similar to one of Centre's staunchest opponents, Medha Patkar-led Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Narendra Modi government's water resources adviser BN Navalawala has taken strong exception to excessive dependence on big dams for solving India's water problems. Instead, he has called for adopting a mix of "efficient methods" in the use of water and laws to ensure that this becomes a reality.

In an important move, the Navsarjan Trust, top Gujarat-based NGO, has decided not to go in for any foreign funding for one its major projects -- the three schools run by it in Ahmedabad, Surendranagar and Patan districts. Announcing this, Martin Macwan, founder of Navsarjan Trust who currently directly looks after the schools, has said he plans to collect funds from "concerned citizens" who believe in the concept behind the three "model" schools -- to usher in the spirit of equality among children.

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the world’s powerful banker, has strongly favoured a sharp rise in personal income tax in India, even as simultaneously bringing down corporate taxes. In a policy paper released this month, the IMF believes this is one of the major steps Government of India requires to take in order to bring about fiscal consolidation.

 The Central Information Commission (CIC), the national watchdog of right to information (RTI), has said it cannot do anything about the six national level political parties, which have refused to comply with its two-year old order declaring them public authorities under the RTI Act. Reacting strongly, senior RTI activist Venkatesh Nayak has termed the decision "tame", adding it is a "body blow" to the regime of transparency established by the Act.

The world's powerful bankers, International Monetary Fund (IMF), have now backed the Government of India's "effort" to bring about a major change in the country's labour laws by removing the labour protection provisions, saying it would help reduce "gender gap in Indian labour force participation". In a recent policy paper, it says, increased "labour market flexibility" would lead to "more formal sector jobs, allowing more women, many of whom are working in the informal sector, to be employed in the formal sector."

In an important revelation, the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) report, “Employment and unemployment situation among social groups in India”, released in January 2015, has suggested that Gujarat is one of the few states which has failed to be effective in providing guaranteed job to those seeking it in the rural areas under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA). The survey, carried out in 2011-12, finds that, in Gujarat, a total of 17.2 per cent rural persons registered themselves and got job cards under NREGA. However, these as many as 29.2 per cent failed to get any employment despite the fact that NREGA is a job guarantee scheme for 100 days to anyone in the rural areas seeking it. It is noteworthy that the all-India average of persons refused job under NREGA is considerably less — it is 18.8 per cent. The percentage of failure to provide job to the jobseekers in Gujarat was higher than most major Indian states, except four – Maharashtra 44.8 per cent, Biha...

Noam Chomsky In a major boost to well-known human rights activist Teesta Setalvad – whom Gujarat police craving to arrest for allegedly “misusing” NGO funds meant for riot victims – more than 200 prominent individuals led by Noam Chomsky, one of the world’s most well-known philosophers, have expressed solidarity with her. Voted the "world's top public intellectual" in 2005 and considered father of modern linguists, he along with top historians Irfan Habib and Romila Thapar have called the Gujarat police's intention as a “clear case of the politics of vendetta.”

  Latest data released by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) suggest that Gujarat, along with a "richer" states Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, have been some of the worst performers in the implementation the previous UPA government's flagship job scheme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

  A new Government of India document, in possession of Counterview, has suggested that Gujarat’s performance in providing land to the tribals under the Forest Rights Act, 2006, is one of the poorest in India. The document shows, as of December-end 2014, Gujarat, an early starter, was able to “dispose of” just 39.97 per cent, or 75,974 claims, out of the total 1,90,051 tribals who had applied for land title deeds or community rights. This is against the national average of a whopping 82.60 per cent (17,13,519 out of 39,59,0190).

Arvind Panagariya Why should the controversial Land Acquisition Ordinance, seeking to replace the 2013 Act, be turned into a full-fledged Act? Explanation put forward by Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of the Niti Aayog -- set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi replacing Planning Commission -- is: Because large majority of farmers, 90 per cent to be exact, allegedly do not having any special liking for farming as their occupation which could earn them income.

A recent  survey  report, prepared by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi, for the a high-profile NGO, Lokniti, has found that, given an employment opportunity, 61 per cent of India’s farmers would like to shift to cities, and 50 per cent of farmers said they are “ready to quit farming” if such a possibility arises.

  A fresh analysis of the Gender Budget Statement (GBS) for 2015-16 has revealed that the total allocation under it as proportion of the Union budget has been progressively going down, with 2015-16 being the lowest of the last five years.

Despite triggering a major turnaround of the top state public sector undertaking, Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals (GSFC), during his stint as GSFC managing-director during 2003-06, ex-IAS bureaucrat Alexander K Luke was given “adverse remarks” in his Annual Confidential Report (ACR), which was written by his minister, Saurabh Patel (energy and petrochemicals), and approved by chief minister Narendra Modi for two years, 2004-05 and 2005-06, when he was with GSFC.

The Gujarat government appears all set to work out a new scheme for regional transfer of waters, in which farmers from South Gujarat sell waters they are "entitled to use" at market rate to water-scarce areas in the North and Centre of the state. Supposedly a “win-win” scheme for both, under it the water-abundant South Gujarat farmers earn on the “transfer” of Narmada waters to water-scarce Central and North Gujarat, whose farmers would be made to “pay” at a negotiable market rate for the waters they receive.

A Gujarat cadre IAS bureaucrat with impeccable reputation, Alexander K Luke -- termed “turnaround man” by captains of industry across India in mid-2000s for pushing top public sector undertaking (PSU) Gujarat State Fertlizers and Chemicals (GSFC) from the red -- has held the state’s “top administrative level” responsible for failing to act impartially during the “2002 Gujarat bloodbath.” In a just-released book he has authored, Luke has said, had the police and IAS officials “held firm and did what they were required to do by the constitution”, a collapse of the administration “could have been avoided.” Luke headed GSFC from 2003 to 2006.

One of the world's most influential NGOs, Oxfam, taking strong exception to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) ordinance, which was hurriedly brought in to replace the LARR Act late last year, has asked the Government of India to roll it back immediately. The ordinance is now being sought to be replaced by an amendment law by the Modi government.

I have in my hand yet another book on advantages of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP). “Supported” by the Gujarat government, and seemingly well researched on a quick scan, what intrigued me after going through it was, it seemed to fail to answer some of contentious questions that remain unanswered ever since the SSP was initiated full-scale in late 1980s. A closer look at the book , which has just been published by Sage, suggests that it fails to address critical issues affecting the project despite its declared aim to have a “well-informed debate” on the project. The term “well-informed”, quoted by the authors, also seemed intriguing — especially because it heavily relies on official sources of information, without referring even once to the sources which have questioned the some of the SSP’s benchmarks. In fact, the reliance on official information is so high that the final manuscript became “ready for publication” only after the managing-director of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam ...

  In one the sharpest critiques of the new Union budget, a top apex body of India’s Dalit organizations, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights (NCDHR), has accused the Government of India of denying Dalits 61 percent of the share they should have been allocated under the scheduled caste sub-plan (SCSP), 53 per cent of the share tribals should have been allocated under the scheduled tribe sub-plan (TSP).

The anti-dam organization, Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) has held a unique Balmela or children’s festival for the children of the Narmada dam oustees in order to inculcate a sense of the need for collective struggle among adivasi children, currently living in various resettlement sites. A National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM) note, giving details of the balmela, said it was held against the backdrop of dangers posed by the dam’s height to be raised to 138.64 metres from the current 120.94 metres.

 In an important revelation, a well-known child rights advocacy group, HAQ: Centre for Child Rights, based in Delhi, has said that in the rush for growth, children have been left behind by the Narendra Modi government's budget, presented in Parliament on February 28. Its analysis of the Union budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has found that in the budget for 2015-16 allocation for children has gone down by 29 per cent compared to 2014-15. Worse, there was a 55 per cent reduction in the overall budget for the Ministry of Women and Child Development.